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Weeding doesn't require pesticides

Green up your yard

By Carol O'Meara For the Camera

Posted:
05/16/2012 01:00:00 AM MDT

When fighting a war on dandelions in your yard, it helps to enlist the aid of family and friends. After all, those stubborn plants are ruining the feng shui of the garden. You yank them up, they send up new shoots; employ potions and tools and they rise from the dead the next day. Pretty soon you're firing up a backhoe and they're sinking roots deep enough to reach China.

When the task seems inhuman, get a little help, by letting your yard go to the dogs. Bringing in man's best friend is a great way to defend against the bane of our gardens. Local artist Cha Cha and her spouse, Leslie Getty, guardians of Buddha Boy had trained him to pull out dandelions.

If you don't have a dog or at least not one likely to pull weeds, there are still plenty of weed removal methods that don't involve pesticides. New weeds may be killed with boiling water or sprayed with vinegar. Keeping light away from weeds with mulch, cardboard or landscape fabric can suppress many weeds. But hand pulling and digging out the roots of perennial weeds is often the most effective technique. That's where a dog like Buddha Boy could come in handy.

"It started this spring, when I was digging out the dandelions in the yard," Cha Cha says. Buddha Boy, the tow-haired, dredlocked, miniature Labradoodle became interested. "He watches me intently no matter what I do, so when I was pulling up the dandelions and tossing them in the compost pile, he started going and retrieving them; half my dandelions came back to me."

As the playful 3-year-old Buddha Boy got into the game, his impatience for the plants to pop from the soil became too much to bear; pouncing on the dandelion as Cha Cha lifted them with her tool, he began wrenching them from the ground. Shaking and tossing the plant, then clawing at the root, Buddha Boy personifies the frustrated desire of gardeners everywhere to throttle the plant.

Cha Cha, of Boulder, and Tony Koski point to a dandelion while training Buddha Boy the dog to eat the weeds at the dog's home on 4th Street in Boulder.
(
Jeremy Papasso
)

"It doesn't take much to train him, so I just started encouraging him to 'get the dandelion,' and he did. He's really smart." The friendly pooch works as a therapy dog at Boulder Community Hospital, where he specializes in helping patients recover range of motion in arms and legs by playing ball.

"Breaking it up into steps is the easiest way to train your dog to do this," says Deanna Bunn, Owner of Paws 4 Thought dog training. "Any dog can do it, although some might not have the motivation. Most dogs are food motivated; they get a treat when they do something right. But this dog does it for the joy of the game and getting to hang out with mom. Dogs live for fun and food."

The 30-year veteran of helping canines learn has a few tips for teaching your pooch to take part in dandelion digging, starting with getting him to take something foreign into his mouth. "If it already retrieves that's good, or if it likes to play and wants to please its owner, those are good first steps."

Break the training into bite-size pieces and understand it won't happen overnight. Encourage the dog to play, taking the dandelion into its mouth. Begin a game of toss and retrieve, using a toy if the dog isn't already into fetch, adding in the dandelion once he gets the hang of it. Use a phrase like 'get the dandelion' over and over so he learns the command.

You can train a dog to do anything, even older ones, says Bunn, who doesn't believe in the adage that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. "I'm working with my 9-year-old rescue dog, who's learning nose work," she said, referring to the job of finding hidden items based on smell. "Age doesn't make a difference; it's like saying a 50-year-old person can't learn."

Be patient and take your time, keeping the training sessions short. Stop at the height of the dog's interest in playing; it results in him picking up the game with enthusiasm the next time. Soon he'll be an ally in the war on dandelions, and you'll have more fun weeding.

And, if you're looking for a way to reward yourself, consider cooking some dandelion greens. Not only are the slightly bitter greens tasty, you can feel like a true weed conqueror as you fork up every delicious bite.

Dandelion Greens with Hot Olive Oil Dressing

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced lengthwise

1/3 cup sliced almonds (1 ounce)

1/2 cup golden raisins

2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 pound tender young dandelion greens, any tough stems discarded

Directions: Heat oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook garlic and almonds, stirring frequently, until pale golden, about 2 minutes. Add raisins and cook, stirring, until garlic is golden and raisins are plumped, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and add vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper, stirring until combined.

Pour hot dressing over dandelion greens in a bowl, tossing with tongs to coat.

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